"I'm going to go back there someday"

So who else is still watching?

2009-11-10T18:27:10Z

FlashForward

This show is rocking my world. The pacing is brilliant. Last week's episode The Gift left me on a personal level saying "No!" while on a literary level saying "Yes!"

Warning Comments may contain spoilers, however please only discuss the T.V. show. I have not read the book and won't till after the first season is over.

Big News

2009-11-10T01:52:58Z

I am now employed! I just went to Orientation.

Starting this week I will be working for Crate and Barrel.

I'll be continuing to send out Software Testing resumes, but in my experience most companies don't hire IT people fourth quarter anyway.

Thank you everyone who sent prayers/well wishes

Bankrupt my pants

2009-10-27T16:58:42Z

My pants are almost as bankrupt as I am.

If you have posted anything important in the past week, assume that I haven't read it.

Wow I needed that

2009-10-27T15:40:26Z

I had a great time at O.V.F.F.

I started slow (performing) because I realized that I hadn't performed or practiced in 2 months. I'm not sure I sang anything on Thursday, and only a couple of times on Friday.

I really enjoyed several of the theme circles on Saturday, and sang merrily at those. I did perform a couple of spoken word pieces in the filk-till-breakfast circle on Saturday/Sunday.

It was great to see and catch up with people from the Northeast.

It was great to see and catch up with people from the Midwest, who I just haven't had a chance to see yet.

The Pegasus concerts were great as usual, a real treat. Also a treat was getting to hear so many "filkers of yore". I especially enjoyed Duane Elms concert.

I also got my copy of Rosemary and Rue signed. squeee

Now I'm fighting off post con blues by reading everyone elses con reports

Guess what?

2009-10-19T19:00:41Z

It looks like I have finally lined up a lousy job.

Now to see if I can arrange for a better job before training starts

Happy Birthday to

2009-10-19T18:57:43Z

runnerwolf

I'm guessing you won't be at OVFF this year

It's been too long

Still alive

2009-10-12T22:19:50Z

CGC is on a business trip this week
this coming weekend we are having a garage sale
still no job yet

Trick or Treat

2009-10-07T19:57:54Z

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
maverick_weirdo goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as The Green Man.
apocalypticbob gives you 2 softly glowing raspberry-flavoured pieces of taffy.
chaoticgoodchic gives you 16 dark blue evil-flavoured nuggets.
damedini gives you 16 yellow watermelon-flavoured wafers.
ewin tricks you! You get a rock.
hsifyppah gives you 18 light orange banana-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
jerusha gives you 1 brown apple-flavoured gummy worm.
judifilksign gives you 12 tan cola-flavoured gumdrops.
kittyguitar gives you 16 tan peach-flavoured wafers.
runnerwolf tricks you! You lose 58 pieces of candy!
selkiechick tricks you! You get a used tissue.
maverick_weirdo ends up with 23 pieces of candy, a rock, and a used tissue.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

Since I am unlikely to be online tomorrow

2009-10-02T20:49:32Z

A verry happy birthday to fiddledragon

Still alive

2009-10-02T01:20:39Z

still unemployed

Recent Events

2009-09-15T16:11:20Z

Still no job

Got new EnviroCycle composter last Thursday

Went to dating class with CGC on Friday

Saw my brother perform his poetry at The Green Mill on Sunday

We took my brother out to dinner on Monday

5 windows are complete (glased, primed, and painted)

75% done reading Edible Forest Garden, Vol I

"Rosemary and Rue" Book Review

2009-09-04T17:11:58Z

Not spoilery but still behind a cut

Rosemary and Rue is an excellent read. The challenge of a first novel of a series is to describe not only the characters and plot, but also the world the characters inhabit. From the beginning the author gives the reader a feeling of how different the fae world is, in spite of its close proximity to our own. Living as long as they do, time has a different meaning for different characters.

While the world is fascinating and complex, it is the characters that really drive this story, starting and ending with October “Toby” Daye. She is a fiercely independent person who would rather be left alone by her mother’s people. In spite of (or perhaps because of) her independence she is much sought after by those in the fae.

The central story is the simplest of the many mysterious questions that crop up in course of this book. It is Ms. McGuire’s knack for throwing in plausible curveballs which keeps things from becoming too predictable.

End of summer

2009-09-02T18:44:48Z

I've been busy, That's part of why I havent posted much lately (plus limited internet access).

Last weekend we went to a small filk circle in Milwaukee. It was a change of pace to filk with people who haven't heard all my material. I even tried some new (for me) stuff.

Lately I have been reglasing CGC's windows (wood sills) priming them, and repainting them. We are changing color for a dusty green, to a rusty orange. I have also repainted the north side door, and the address sign.

I picked up the book Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire at a B&N in Arlington Heights yesterday. They had 9 copies. I have not had a chance to read it yet. I have been reading Edible Forest Garden: Vol 1 which will (I hope) help me plan next spring's garden.

If we get an early fall this year it's my fault. I made a beef stew for dinner this week. (Beef stew is one of the signs of fall for me.)

Last night CGC took me to see Montrose Harbor. There was a bit of haze in the air, but the moon was almost full, and shone beautifully on the lake.

My brother the poet will be arriving in Chicago on the 12th of September. He will be the Featured Poet at Green Mill Poetry on September 13th. Then he is leaving on the 16th.

Birthday Wishes

2009-08-28T21:02:06Z

A very happy birthday to fellow new Chicago'n voiceofkiki and a belated happy birthday to apocalypticbob.

The two of you are part of the reason CGC asks me "Don't you know any men on the internet?" ;)

Boosting the signal

2009-08-13T20:34:03Z

Attention F.K.O./Firefly Fans

To sum up
Items are being auctioned off to help a friend of mine (apocalypticbob) afford a new car/engine

One of the items is a drawing of what the Serenity crew would look like as Penguins

Penguinity

Considering the number of Browncoats at F.K.O. I though someone would be interested. Please spread the word

Yesterday

2009-08-06T17:06:16Z

CGC went to work. When she arrived in Chicago she called to say, "It is a perfect day. Why don't you grab your bike, hop on the train, go cycling along the waterfront, then meet me for lunch?"

So that's exactly what I did. The only drawback is that if I bring my bike into the city (on a weekday) I have to go home either before 2:31 pm or after 7:29 pm.

I pedaled from Union Station to Millenium Park, then down to Soldier Field and back.
On wednesdays in the summer CGC's work has concerts on the greenspace next to where she works. She hat a salad, I had a sandwitch, we both had ice cream. We sat and talked and listened to music. We danced to a slow song, then she went back in the building mumbling "i d'wanna, i d'wanna" under her breath.

I managed a quick stop at the Chicago Public Library before heading back to Union Station to catch the 2:30 train.

Pegasus Awards

2009-07-31T20:47:25Z

Today is the last day to nominate for the Pegasus Awards for Filking

So here are the ones I nominated:

Best Composer

Blind Lemming Chiffon

Hoffman, Randy

Levine, Rennie

Palmer, Ada

Savitsky, Steve

Best Performer

Bull, Emma

McNally, Amy

Sassafrass

Tucker, SJ

Toy Boat

Best Filk Song

Dale, Heather; One of Us

Kimberley, Talis; Paper Worlds

Newman, Ben; El-ahrairah

Sassafrass (Palmer, Ada); Somebody Will

Valtazanou, Marilisa; One Small Boat

Best Classic Filk Song

Knighton, Gwen; Like Their Feet Have Wings

Newman, Benjamin; Dragon for Sale

Ookla the Mok; Tiberius Rising

Simpson, Don; Ship of Stone

Turner, Jonathan; Second Hand Songs

Lil' Bit Country

Bethancourt, Joe; Will We Still Have Country Music Out In Space?

Freeman, Nancy Louise; Overland Stage

Leathers, Graham; Don't Swear at Machinery

Smith, Tom; Telly Taley Heart

Sutton, Bill; Stray Dog Man

Lil' Bit Rock & Roll

Estin, Paul; Flourine Atom

Kimberley, Talis; Tattercoats

Macdonald, Steve; Snitch Ball Wizard

Possible Oscar; Talk Nerdy To Me

Smith, Tom; Domino Death

These are far from the only worthy contenders, there was much struggle in narrowing down the the choices to five. In general I favored longshots and underdogs

Hi, I'm still alive

2009-07-22T20:10:15Z

But you can Bankrupt My Pants. I haven't been online since July 17th so please let me know if I have missed any big news.

I am now in Chicagoland. *Kermit flail* Yeaaaaa.

Thank-You's go out to:

outlander and her friend, bercilakslady, happyfunpaul, my brother Brian, ultimatepsi, and dvtune at the Lowell end

almeda, John, Beka, A.J., and chaoticgoodchic at this end.

The drive went smoothly (for the most part) and unpacking is in progress. Snowball (my cat) worried us by disappearing, until we figured out she had gotten into a crallspace. She is coming out to eat, and use the litterbox, but not when anyone is around. (Snowball is not a fan of change.)

While I am online a belated Happy Birthday to kittyguitar,
and Happy Birthday today to vixyish

Happy Birthday to

2009-07-01T14:55:55Z

bercilakslady

And may you have a wonderful day of celebratory...

packing?

See you Sunday

So what are everyone's plans for Fourth of July?

2009-06-26T01:06:36Z

huh?

Boosting the Signal

2009-06-25T13:52:45Z

This is primarily aimed at those on my flist in or near Upstate NY.

Would any of you be interested in attending a S.J. Tucker house concert held In the Albany area?

No I have a date, I'm just trying to find if there is intrest.

Concertino Report

2009-06-24T09:09:22Z

It was a great con

The programming was nicely varied, but not overwhelming, with high marks for visual aids at the sing-along and jam session.

The consuite lived up to the high standards set by victorthecook

The guests were all entertaining and gracious. Aside from the guests of the con we also had concerts by Judith Hayman, Kathy Mar, and Sassafras

The hotel worked out well, in spite of some less than ideal challenges (Construction, Amphitheater unavailable on Saturday night, Restaurant didn't open for breakfast till 7am) We even serenaded the third shift desk clerk at about 2:30 am Sunday with Hope Erie and Green Hills of Earth.

I sang and read in open circle, several times over the course of the weekend. (I did have a hard time telling what I performed at Concertino vs. DucKon, All weekend I was thinking “Did I already sing this song this weekend, or was it last weekend I sang it.”) I got to see and hear people I don’t see enough of. I got to show hsifyppah the Burnside Fountain. I will remember that look on her face forever.

I skipped the Interfilk Voice Auction, because I am getting ready to be broke soon. I did spend 21 dollars at the silent Auction, getting a filk tape, a shoulder bag, an FKO shaker egg, an NMC T-shirt, Mug, and a complete set of NMC buttons.

A Kinda Con Post

2009-06-23T06:51:56Z

I am going to talk about Concertino out of order and start at the end.

Sunday night at the MassFilc meeting it really hit me hard that I am moving (geographically) away from a wonderful community.

Three years ago, trying to find a social outlet after the break-up of my marriage, I walked into Concertino ’06. Only one person, at the time, knew my name, but I was welcomed. This year I helped make Concertino ’09 happen, and of the 130 attendees there were less than 20 people who didn’t know me.

As the Dead Dog circle got smaller, and more locals went home I was also realizing that once I move, it will be months or years before I see most of you again. I was barely able to hold myself together to sing I’m going to go back there some day which is my typical swan song of the con. (It also happens to be the first thing I stood up and sang at a filk circle, back at Arisia ’05)

I will try to make it to the July MassFilk meeting, and I plan to send my proxy with someone to the Annual meeting (just so that I can feel like I’m still involved), but in case I don’t see some of you again you before I move.

So Long and Thanks for all the Filk

That Meme

2009-06-22T16:04:30Z

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

Last Saturday was 3 years on LJ for me. Some of you I met through or because of LJ. Some I kept contact with or got to know better through LJ. I am very greatful for my LJ friends. Thank You.

Skip 150

2009-06-22T13:29:01Z

150 friends posts since I was brousing lj last Thursday, and I haven't been reading lj thouroughly since before DucKon, so...

If you have posted any Big News in the past two weeks please give me a wave.

I currently want to add posts on

DucKon
CGC visit
ConCertino
Relocation Process